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Friday, November 12, 2010

Veggies for the Carnivores!

Happy Friday, All!

As I have mentioned before, I am a vegetarian by proxy ... my husband doesn’t eat meat and therefore most of what I cook follows a vegetarian or pescatarian regimen.

People are always asking me is there anything I cook that I enjoy eating since I’m bending my ways to another’s dietary requests. The answer? Y-E-S - YES! There are many foods and recipes that lend themselves to this style of cooking, and best of all...they are tasty!

Here are two recipes I’ve made this week that I encourage you to try at home - carnivore or not!

Squash Spaghetti

A creative approach to a dinner table classic.

Adriana introduced the idea earlier this week in the post A little squash. (Hopefully you've already been tempted by her recipe!) This recipe is a variation on squash spaghetti that I hope will also rock your socks.

I was introduced to this idea at a family function and we love it at my house!! Feel free to knock out the noodles all together...we just happen to enjoy a mix.

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash (When in season this is in the produce section of your local grocer.)

2 jars of organic marinara

Fresh white mushrooms (These are sauteed and added to the sauce - if you’re not a mushroom fan, feel free to exclude!)

Pierce spaghetti squash in five places with a knife. Microwave for 12 minutes.

Sauté mushrooms using a splash of olive oil; when done, add sauce and simmer.If desired add garlic salt to taste.

Bring water to a boil with splash of olive oil - add noodles and cook to al dente. Drain.

Split squash in middle and remove seeds. (They resemble pumpkin seeds.) With a fork, scrape out “noodles” into a bowl.

Combine angel hair and squash noodles into individual bowls. Top with sauce.

Enjoy!

Crumbles Lasagna

Replace the meat with a healthy treat!

An important aspect of a vegetarian’s diet is protein - just because you have chosen to exclude animals doesn’t mean the food pyramid becomes unimportant. Sometimes you simply have to get more creative with your intake sources. A product that we have grown to love is protein crumbles by Smart Ground; the product resembles ground beef in appearance and is loaded with nutrition! The following recipe replaces ground beef with this product, and adds spinach for an extra punch of delish!

Ingredients:

1 box of Barilla no-boil lasagna noodles

2 eggs

1 (15 oz) container ricotta cheese

4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 package Smart Ground crumbles browned

1 jar organic spaghetti sauce

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1 package frozen chopped spinach

Parsley (garnish)

Preheat oven to 375.

Prepare spinach according to package directions. Drain.

Ground protein crumbles.

In pan, combine spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce, and protein crumbles.

In bowl combine beaten eggs, ricotta cheese, spinach, and TWO cups of mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.

Set aside.

In 9 X 13 pan, spread 1 cup of sauce on bottom of pan.

Layer in this order: lasagna noodles (make sure they do not overlap as they expand when cooked), 1/3 part of ricotta cheese mixture, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, and 1 1/2 cups sauce mixture.

Next layer: lasagna noodles (make sure they do not overlap as they expand when cooked), 1/3 part of ricotta cheese mixture, and 1 1/2 cups sauce mixture.

Next layer: lasagna noodles (make sure they do not overlap as they expand when cooked), remaining ricotta cheese mixture, and 1 cup sauce mixture.

Top layer: lasagna noodles (make sure they do not overlap as they expand when cooked), remaining sauce, remaining 1 cup mozzarella.

Garnish with parsley.

Bake covered with foil for 50-60 minutes.

Uncover and continue cooking until cheese on top is melted.

Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

NOTE: If you are using a 13x9x2 pan, reduce to 3 layers to avoid spillage.